


Matched Set

by FeatherQuilt88



Series: The Amber Dragon Anthology [29]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Babies, Comedy, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Dadko, Expectant Parents, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fire Lord Zuko, Food, Grandpa Iroh, Happy, Happy Family, Humor, In-Laws, Joyful, Love, Multi, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Kissing, Post-Canon, Pregnancy, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:27:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24461995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeatherQuilt88/pseuds/FeatherQuilt88
Summary: Jin is heavily pregnant. Iroh is the world's best father-in-law. (This is an extremely fluffy, happy story wherein nothing bad happens. The only reason I gave it a "T" rating was because [1] there is a brief mention of Iroh's warlike past, and [2] this story obviously centers heavily on Jin's pregnancy--so, if pregnancy is an uncomfortable or triggering subject to you, then please be advised that this would probably not be something you would enjoy reading.)
Relationships: Iroh & Jin (Avatar), Iroh & Original Child Character(s), Jin & Original Character(s), Jin & Original Child Character(s), Jin/Zuko (Avatar), Zuko & Original Child Character(s)
Series: The Amber Dragon Anthology [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988473
Comments: 6
Kudos: 64





	Matched Set

**Author's Note:**

> For readers new to my "Amber Dragon" fanfic series--in it, Iroh runs a new teashop, the Amber Dragon, in the Fire Nation capital; Zuko is married to Jin, and my fancharacter Kiwa (mentioned near the end) is their first child. My other fancharacter, Chiko (also mentioned near the end), is a little girl Iroh adopted in an earlier post-canon adventure. Iroh and Zuko consider each other father and son now, so Iroh is Jin's father-in-law by the same token.
> 
> Other fancharacters include Tai and Gui (Jin's parents in my fanfic universe), and Mari (a Fire Palace servant).

"Would you like some water, my lady?"

"It's all right, Mari. I'm fine." Jin struggles upward from the couch-bed, in the hall near her and Zuko's chambers.

"You mustn't strain yourself, my lady!" The servant almost flies into a tizzy, coming to help her queen up.

Jin sighs. Mari is a Fire Nation woman about five years her senior, and is the kindest handmaiden she could have asked for. But she has lately become a little... overprotective. As have most of the other palace residents, for that matter.

Were they really this nervous, those last few weeks before Kiwa's birth? Well, it's almost certain they should have been--the Fire Lord and Lady's first child! The _heir to the throne!_ So much expectation! But Jin can't imagine why they are treating her like fine Earth Kingdom porcelain _now,_ after her _first_ pregnancy already went so smoothly. This second one has had hardly any hiccups at all!

 _Well, figuratively speaking,_ she chuckles fondly, as she suddenly feels the baby hiccuping inside her. Jin cradles her belly as she finally gets up, almost as if to hold it in place and to pet the child both. Her due date is in two weeks, perhaps less. She and the whole family cannot wait to welcome their new little member into the daylight world--and Jin has admittedly been growing tired of feeling like an overstuffed sky-bison. And yet, a part of her knows she will miss this tender stage--getting to carry her baby around inside her, like a rabbaroo.

She wonders if the others may miss it too--the little whispers they share with the baby, leaning close to Jin's midriff, telling the child how welcome they are, whenever she lets them stroke it.

...She wants to go see her parents. She tells Mari so. And she clasps the dear handmaiden's fingers appreciatively, as the two of them walk out of the palace's halls and down the street, to a modest little mansion in the Earthtown.

***

" _Sweetheart,_ did you walk here all on your own?!" Tai's face of concern nearly matches Mari's, as the handmaiden deposits Jin into her arms at the door.

"Yes, Momma, and you can quit dusting me," Jin lets both women know--each of them so busy patting her robe.

Gui ducks his head under the windchimes in the foyer, opening his arms for his daughter now too. "Our queen! And her little sprite!" he grins.

It's not long before Mari is on her way with a gentle bow, and Tai and Gui have Jin in the rocking chair. The old Earth couple swaddle their daughter in blankets, almost as if she is a baby herself.

"I made this for you," Gui gives Jin a little seashell he's carved from a block of wood. The former butler never tires of whittling--every time his daughter visits (and that is always at least twice a week), he has a new charm for her.

"Awww, Daddy," Jin melts, trying not to giggle. She slips the trinket into the deep pockets of her soft red robe, and kisses Gui's cheek.

"And _I_ made these for the baby," Tai beams, not to be outdone. She deposits a knitted pair of booties in Jin's lap--in the Fire Lady's favorite shade of green.

Soon the old herbalist has laid her fuzzy gray head on her daughter's, and the old butler-turned-noble has knelt likewise at her knees. Jin beams, suddenly awash with love. She feels as much royalty here in this old wooden rocker, as she does in her golden chair in the Fire Palace's throne room.

_"Where are Zuko, and dear little Kiwa?"_

_"They went to the park, to play with Chiko."_

_"Is our little princess gettin' excited, about her little siblin' bein' almost here?"_

_"Oh! --Heehee, maybe it's the other way around--I think THIS little one is who's getting excited! Quick, come feel, they're kicking!"_

Tai and Gui nearly fight each other, to clasp their hands over their rambunctious little unborn grandchild. It's all a mess of laughter and warmth. And then Tai inquires whether the palace staff have been feeding Jin well.

"I've probably been running Mari's legs off, having her snatch me five kinds of dumplings from the kitchens at once," Jin admits, with a rather naughty grin. "But what I really need _now_ are some good, homemade, Earth Kingdom almond cookies!"

"Now Jin, I think you and Baby need more vitamins than that," Tai tut-tuts, rather primly. "I don't have any cookies made right now, but I'll give you something better." She is already bustling off to the kitchen partition, in this townhouse of her and Gui's own.

"Aww, but you could bake some, Momma!" Jin almost whines, rubbing her stomach pleadingly. "You want me to tell the baby that Mimmi wouldn't make them cookies??"

"No, I want you to tell the baby that Mimmi gave them a good head-start, by making sure their mother had her proper nutrition!"

(While "Mimmi" proceeds to argue with the semi-young Fire Lady, "Pip-pap" has noted the storm brewing. Completely forgetting that he is no longer a servant, he suddenly begins dusting a table in the hallway, very busily.)

Jin has gotten up out of the rocking chair now, stamping one foot. " _I want cookies!_ " Her brunette pigtails fly up in her huff, and Tai and Gui both try not to giggle. Apart from the topknot above them, with its golden flame, those twin braids haven't changed at all since Jin was a child herself. Though her tantrums have always been quite rare--it has taken a very fractious baby, and a very pregnant appetite, to get her this worked-up.

" _Now_ then," Tai seats her pouting daughter back in the chair, pressing a warm bowl into her hands. "I ate this nearly every day when I was carrying you, Jin. Two of the best healers I ever knew in Ba-Sing-Se both swore it had everything a growing baby needs!"

Jin stares at the earthenware bowl, filled with what looks like a tasteless brown mush. No doubt it has several of Tai's best herbs ground into it--but the smell is intolerable, perhaps because of that. Jin suddenly feels very sorry, for her own past unborn self. _"Bleck!"_ she whispers, sticking her tongue out widely to one side, where Tai cannot see. Then she slowly brings her head back up, to face the old herbalist.

"...You know what?" she tries again, more meekly this time. "I'm not really that hungry after all, Momma. But since we're so close by, and since Mari's already gone back to the palace... could you walk me over to the Amber Dragon? I want to see Papa Mushi too, before tonight."

***

For the second time that day, Jin waddles through the Earthtown, this time escorted by her mother. They kiss beneath the teahouse entryway, adorned with its two golden dragons, while Iroh clucks joyously at the appearance of his daughter-in-law.

Tender as their sendoff is, Jin slams the door quickly behind her, the moment Tai is out of range. She whips forward, her eyes wild as an armadillo-wolf's. "Papa Mushi, do you have any almond cookies?!!"

Iroh lets out a rich chuckle, more affectionate than it is surprised. "Why _certainly,_ my dear!"

The two of them laugh even more when they try to embrace. It's easy for skinny little Gui to hug his expectant daughter--and it's easy for fat little Iroh to hug his daughter-in-law in normal circumstances. But right now, with her girth rivaling his, they nearly fall over, their bellies bumping before their arms can connect. They finally collapse onto the couch (still laughing), managing to get their hug in by shifting sideways.

Iroh has to struggle back up, though, of course, to get their cookies (never in short supply for the Amber Dragon customers), and then they are munching away. They stop after a few bites, though, when the baby suddenly starts kicking again. Jin smiles almost wistfully, as she lets Iroh feel of her midriff, just as she let her parents earlier.

Iroh's large hand is _so_ warm--Firebender warm. This is a ritual Jin learned from Zuko--Firebenders sometimes heat their fingertips to touch their growing babies, "to give them a foretaste of the sun." (Very, very gently--never enough to burn.)

None of them know if their new little family member is going to be Earth or Fire yet, but Iroh doesn't care. He is giving them his blessing anyway. Just as he did to Kiwa, over four years ago, when _she_ was a little wiggle-worm kicking inside Jin's belly. When Iroh had told Jin he would be just as proud if the child was born of Earth, like her, as he would be if they were born of Fire, like himself and Zuko.

Kiwa had turned out to be born of Fire, but Iroh had kept his promise. Just as he does now, with this new little one.

 _It can't be possible,_ Jin suddenly thinks, _for this man to be the terrifying Fire Nation general who laid siege to my old home, when I was a little girl._

Her eyes moisten further, as she realizes she is at least half-right.

The first time she had actually seen Iroh, he had been "old Mushi"--pouring her a cup of tea in Pao's old shop, with a smile as broad as the city walls themselves. And "Papa Mushi" he has always remained, to her.

_Papa Mushi and all of the forces of Heaven had killed General Iroh, together._

She leans into his heart, feeling so calm, so safe. She watches him breathe a little steam-dragon in the air, and then feels his kiss atop her messy bangs.

_In many ways, he is as much her father now, as Gui is._

He doesn't even complain to flounder up out of the couch, again, when Jin has one additional request to go with the cookies.

***

Zuko finds them not too long afterward, bringing Chiko and Kiwa home from the park.

"Mommy! Grampa!"

"Bapa! Jin-Jin!"

The Fire Lady and the Dragon of the West look up from the teashop couch--still snuggled quite cozily, each with a cookie sticking out of their mouths.

"Pppffffftt--!" The Fire Lord himself makes a spluttering noise, attempting to hold in his laughter, and fails utterly. "Ahaha _haHAAAAAAAA!!_..."

Jin and Iroh have the exact same expression, blinking innocently, cheeks stuffed like hamster-sparrows'. Their hands hold roughly the same amount of almond cookies (though Iroh, admittedly, has not been dipping _his_ into the nearby dish of pepper sauce). They have worn the exact same style of topknot today, and are in the exact same type of robe--plush and comfortable and bright cherry-red. And with their hugely round tummies, they are not too unlike a pair of ripe cherries themselves.

Zuko wipes at his good eye, finally gaining control of his merriment. "You look like _twins!_ " he chuckles, holding his own, much leaner stomach, to stop his sides from hurting.

"Ohhh..." Jin faintly starts to pout, but Iroh comes to her rescue.

"Why, _Zuko!_ " the elder Firebender feigns _all_ the delighted surprise in the world. "I had no _idea_ that I was so beautiful!" he fluffs his gray hair daintily, beaming.

Jin looks back over at Iroh and melts into an appreciative chuckle, falling back into his arms and kissing his cheek. Both little girls giggle. Zuko watches his wife and his adoptive father fondly for a moment--but then he grows a broader, more impish grin.

"Move over," he climbs onto the couch, never minding his cumbersome royal cape. " _I_ want some of that!" he growls playfully, grabbing Jin back from Iroh. She laughs as he nearly devours her with kisses.

Iroh keeps Chiko and Kiwa occupied meanwhile, sweeping the little princesses into his arms. Chiko nuzzles his big pug nose, while Kiwa leans into his obi. "...We're a happy family, aren't we?" the younger girl suddenly peeps.

Everyone stops to stare at her. It's such an innocent, obvious statement--but hearing one of their number say it aloud is somehow very poignant. _Especially_ to Zuko, whose family was not always so.

"Oh, Kiwa," he nearly cries, extending his arm to his daughter. "Of _course_ we are."

The tiny crown princess crawls over to her parents' laps. Jin draws her close, and kisses her soft black hair, almost reverently.

The new little life among them wriggles again, and Kiwa gasps (as she has often done, these past few months). "Mommy! I feel the baby again!"

Jin's smile is soft and gentle, never letting Kiwa go. "The baby's saying they're happy too," she whispers.


End file.
